Thursday, November 9, 2017

The second round of singles matches Wednesday at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Lifetime Fitness Target Center produced plenty of drama, especially as it was the first playoff day, so players who lose from this day forward are eliminated from the tournament. It's win or go home.

In Boys U18, there were four matches that went tie-breaker - two involving the USA players fighting back from a game down to win. Mauro Rojas (USA) dropped the first game against Ecuador's Juan Francisco Cueva, but won in the breaker, 12-15, 15-10, 11-1, and Dane Elkins (USA) won a close breaker against Bolivian Bryan Zambrana, 13-15, 15-8, 11-8.

In Girls U18, there was one dramatic match Wednesday, as Canadian Alexis Iwaasa narrowly defeated Maria Jose Muñoz of Ecuador, 14-15, 15-9, 11-10. In game one, Muñoz was ahead most of the way, but Iwaasa got to 14 first at 14-13, yet couldn't finish it off, as Muñoz forced her into skipping a forehand shot. With the serve back, Muñoz hit two winners to win game one, 15-14.

In game two, they were tied at 2-2, but Iwaasa took the lead from there, and maintained it to win 15-9, and force a tie-breaker. In the breaker, Iwassa continued to lead, but Muñoz never quit, and she tied the game at 8-8. An avoidable call gave Muñoz her 9th point, and a forehand pinch shot put her on match point at 10-8.

But with the match on her racquet, Muñoz skipped a backhand shot from the back left corner. She gave Iwaasa a point with another backhand skip, but still led 10-9. Iwaasa hit a forehand pinch shot to get her 10th point, and then a drive serve ace to the left side won her the match, 11-10.

The victory puts Iwaasa up against the top seed Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala in the quarters on Thursday.

The IRF World Juniors playoff continues Thursday and runs through Saturday. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.